


Be a Big Bro Before a Lover

by BunnyPuppet



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adorable Lance, Allura is an good blue paladin, BABY LANCE, Big Bro Keith, Big Brother Shiro (Voltron), Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), First work - Freeform, He have an little sister, Hunk is a cute Bear, Hurt Lance, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith have feelings for Lance, Keith is not much different, Langst, M/M, Pidge jealous, Shiro is an idiot at the beginning, Shiro isn't a clone, Sick Lance, bad flowers, but they get better later, cute lance, hurt keith, klance, lance turns into a baby, strange planets, tags to add, venom - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-22 16:57:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13768491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyPuppet/pseuds/BunnyPuppet
Summary: After a mission from the wrong and a conversation turns to a big discussion, Lance decides to leave the castle to cool his head, not thinking that this would only bring more problems.OrAfter seeing Lance almost die once again Keith ends up talking things without thinking and Lance runs away, but ends up being poisoned by an alien plant and turns into a baby, leaving his team to find a way to get him back to normal.





	1. Mission Starts

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys!  
> This is the first time I'm making a voltron fanfic and the first time I put it here on the site too!  
> I have some things to count as: English is not my native language, so it may have some (or many) errors, but I do not have a beta reader so I can not fix these errors, I'm sorry ...  
> It's the first time I do this too, I've only written in my true language so far and it's not on the site, but if it all works out, maybe I'll do the same with them :)  
> Anyway I will not prolong this much, I hope you enjoy my work!

This was not a simple mission, they all knew it, they were tense and nervous, going over the plan mentally all the time for two days, and now it was finally time to put it into practice.

Shiro paced the corridors to the control room trying to convey as much confidence as he could in case any of the children were found on the way, a leader could not be scared, a leader had to have his head in place to always know what to do regardless of the situation , or at least that's what he said to himself in the bathroom mirror, even if the truth was plain and simple, he was as scared as the others.

It was after all a large Galran base on an ice-covered planet, visibility would be impaired as well as its limited movements. Shiro knew his opponents were mostly robots, in case they needed to fight, but besides them, there would be soldiers, generals, remembering Sendak made the hair on his arms shiver and he suppressed a sigh. He almost lost Lance that time.

Stopping for a second to take a deep breath he tried to regain his hesitant composure, startled to hear the unmistakable, slightly disgusting damp sound coming from one of the rooms ahead, frowning as he followed the sound cautiously, stopping in front at the door of the blue paladin and grimace at the same sound again followed by a miserable groan, oh great.

"Lance? Friend, are you okay? "He asked, wishing he would say yes, because that mission was too important and they could not do that without the Red Lion. Shiro pretended not to hear a start inside, not a new, low, aching groan, waiting impatiently for Lance's response so he could continue his walk.

"I'm fine, space dad, I just eat too much goo last night." Shiro frowned with his nickname but was relieved to hear the boy's usual playful tone. Forgetting that Lance had not actually eaten the night before.

"Okay, do not be late for the final meeting, the plan needs to be executed at the right time." Shiro explained and by the silence and the low grunt shortly afterwards he might well see Lance rolling his eyes at him.

"Kay 'kay." A little more silence and then satisfied with the new move Shiro stepped away, pretending to be deaf when he heard again the sound of vomit now further away, ignoring the shiver that rose his spine to focus on which should be more important now.  
The Blade of Marmora was also there, Keith in his new spy suit looked a little changed, taller and fuller, holding the same serious, confident look as ever, Shiro could not help but smile for his brother.

"So we have everything planned, this is a rescue mission, do not fail. Hunk, Pidge, it's your turn. "Shiro spoke and watched as they confirmed, going to the lions' hangar and entering the paladin's, watching as Green roared before flying away from the castle.

Allura and Coran had captured a video call of rebels who had been captured by Galran forces to two days, was a call for help as soon as possible, and due to the situation, the search for ceaseless allies, they would not let the opportunity pass.

It was a fortress-prison created by the galran fleets on the planet Frizzli, a more advanced search for Coran proved to be an ice-covered planet, with constant snowstorms preventing prisoners from escaping, and those attempting to be frozen to death in less of 24 hours.

The plan would begin with Hunk and Pidge infiltrating the fortress, taking advantage of the Green Lion's invisibility to this, the genius paladin would compromise the safety of the robot guards and drones around the prison and Hunk would be their backup in case anything went wrong. Safely turned off by at least 30 tics, Allura would step in using his Lion's sonar to map the entire fort before Lance, Shiro and Keith entered to rescue the prisoners, taking advantage of the advanced speed and small stature of the Red lion, being able to hide both Red and Green inside the Fort without problems.

At the moment Allura was taking off and Shiro and Keith were preparing to enter the red Lion when Lance subtly grabbed the Leader's shoulder.

"Shiro us ... can I talk to you?" Lance asked in a murmur, letting out an unsteady breath, Shiro pretended not to see it, they could handle a food poisoning later, right?

"Is important? Or can you wait until we finish this? "Shiro asked a little anxiously, pretending not to see the brunet's bruised look that crossed his, Lance licked his lips and adjusted his posture, stubbornly holding a hand in the stomach, and even if a bit hesitant, he stared coldly at the black paladin before answering.

"It's nothing important, I can wait until we get back, leader." He said turning his back and heading to his Lion without giving Shiro a chance to speak, Shiro in turn pretended not to feel that same shiver going up his spine for the second time that day.  
The first part of the plan was a success, and soon they were all together inside the fortress, each one with its beyard in hand as Keith held his knife, in the first bifurcation the second part of the plan began.

While Pidge and Hunk would permanently disable power and security in the control room, Shiro, Keith and Lance would follow the search for the prisoners using the digitized map of the area sent by Allura, being as stealthy as they could to avoid a commotion before the force was turned off .  
Shiro was ahead with Keith at his back as Lance followed with the active beyard if he needed to instantly silence someone, the blaster making considerable weight just on the right hand while the left hand held his side tightly, thinking that he definitely could not vomit there . Still, the pain brought out sharp sighs. Lance had to bite his lips as he felt a nudge near the ribs, shuddering slightly and trying to control his breath before looking a little sullen at whoever had hit him.

"Be quiet, you're going to give us our location," Keith hissed, his usual annoyed tone making a tremor rise through the blue paladin's body before he watched him turn his back again. It was Keith's turn to pretend not to have noticed how strange the lack of an answer was.  
Suddenly all the lights went out, and in less than a tic the emergency lights in a ghostly red rose, the sound of countless robots falling to the floor was heard by all the hallways and the paladins could not help but smile.

"You can move on." Pidge's voice came from the communicator of the helmets.

"Very good Pidge, Hunk." Shiro praised enthusiastically, relaxing his muscles considerably with the success being the second phase of the plan.

"I hear footsteps," Lance said in a whisper, loosening his stomach to better balance the blaster in both hands, but before anyone else could see them they made their way to the area where the prisoners were, so silent as they could be, it was then that there was a shot and Keith only felt a hand on his back pushing him forward and taking his head from the exact direction in which the shot would hit, a second shot was heard but this time both Keith and Shiro were able to see Lance shoot the soldier galran who had seen them, hitting the man directly on the head.

Lance waited a second shaky to realize what had just happened before releasing his blaster that immediately returned to its original shape, turning to the corner and pouring what appeared to be all the bile still present in the stomach, acid that burned his throat.  
He killed someone.

"Let's go Lance, it's okay, we have to go, are you okay to go?" Shiro asked worriedly, one hand on the back of the blue paladin while the other followed for the waist, but the simple act made the brunet bow and hiss of pain, retreating from his touch, both.

"Lance, you ..." Keith started, but was soon cut off by whom he was heading.

"I'm fine, it does not matter, you can wait until the end of the mission so let's finish this soon ..." He murmured grumpily, bending down tremulously to pick up his beyard that soon gained the shape of the blaster one more time before he followed in front.

Keith and Shiro looked at each other and shrugged in synchrony, both pretending they did not watch as Lance held his gun with only one hand while the other tightened his belly, shuddered after a few steps while breathing loudly, they could not concentrate on a stomach ache now, they had a mission to finish.  
Unfortunately the firing sounds were heard in almost every fortress due to silence and soon new troops approached the three paladins who eventually went slower to their destination, but according to the map the cells were just around the corner, so a new plan was formed.

"Lance, stay with me and give me cover while Keith is going to open the cells, they just open with the galran blood." Keith sniffed, but nodded as Lance muttered through the communicator a statement, using the new beyard rifle to shoot by far.  
Keith managed to pass easily by the guards who were in the way with his knife, giving a grateful nod to Lance when he shot one of the soldiers approaching him from behind.  
Soon it was only Shiro and the sniper.

The soldiers seemed not to want to stop coming more and more to the two paladins, five, ten, fifteen, more galleries would appear every minute and Lance let out an unsteady breath as he lost one of the soldiers who was about to hit the leader from behind, launching a second shot that hit the galran exactly on the head. Lance forced the bile back down his throat and pretended not to see the glow that Shiro had given him, it was not a thank-you.  
He also did not know if he wanted one.

"Lance, focus!" Shiro shouted as he knocked down galran after galran, distracted momentarily when he saw Keith running back to him. Alone and bleeding. Lance hit two other soldiers who were trying to attack him from behind.

"Is empty! The heat signing inside the cell were other soldiers, I managed to finish them off and escape but ... "

"A trap ..." Shiro spoke grimly biting the inside of his cheek so as not to scream in frustration. Two shots, a single guard fell and Keith skillfully knocked over the second.

"Allura? Hunk, Pidge, anyone? "Keith called the communicator, but everything he heard was static in response. Three shots, no soldier shot down, Keith and Shiro knocked down the two guards feeling their blood warmed with rage.

"Lance!" Shiro shouted, looking where the sniper was supposed to be, and he could see the exact time that the teenager released the beyard that dematerialized and fell to the ground, but that was not what caught his attention, but the paladin he was suspended by the neck, just behind him was a Galran, his smile was enormous.  
Keith and Shiro went pale with the sight.

"Release it," Keith growled, his knife in his right hand gaining the original form, the original strength. The general just grinned.

"So?" He asked with mockery, swinging Lance a little forward before throwing him down the hall where he hit the ground, Keith and Shiro saw with their mouths open as his helmet flew away from his body as he rolled a few times before being completely still, the blood of the two brothers froze.

No, not again.

Turning away from a shot from behind, Shiro turned to finish off the remaining soldiers as Keith rushed into General Galran, who almost avoided his attacks with much more ease, his smile not slipping for a second at all. less until Keith screams.

"Now Shiro!" As he attacked and forced the general to dodge, Shiro fired at his side where there was an opening, his prosthetic arm activated through the exact spot where his heart deferred, he did not hesitate, he did not felt remorse, and without moving he saw the Galran approaching.

"He's going to die." He nodded to the side where Lance was down, where Keith was already running to check on him. "And it will not be my fault."

"Last words," Shiro spoke coldly, ignoring the tightness in his heart with the words.

"Vrepit sa." He spat the blood on Shiro's face, the smile fading only as his eyes turned in their sockets and Shiro took his hand from his chest, shaking the blood and breathing deeply a few times to force the panic into the back of his mind , it was not the time, not the place, they had to get out of there, he had to get Lance out of that place.


	2. He Hate Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the mission goes wrong and Lance's hurt, Keith and Shiro take care of him before they take him in an cryo pod, but it's a very difficult mission keep him alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello babys <3  
> I'm back!  
> Sorry for make all of you waiting!
> 
> I'm going to be honest with you, I did not think this fanfic was going to go from the first chapter, but you surprised me so much that I could not resist continuing!  
> There were more than 600 hits! I still can not believe it ...  
> Thank you very much for all the comments of the previous chapter, you have made me a very happy and lively writer to continue writing!
> 
> Once again, I apologize for the spelling mistakes, I'm still learning!
> 
> Good reading~

Keith as he approached Lance already felt his anxiety making his hands shake, his sword loose on the floor as his hands hovered over the sharpshooter's body, the fear of stirring him and then causing even more to be almost too large for him to have any reaction , but they would have to move him anyway then with the utmost care he could muster in the present situation he turned the boy until he could look at her face, feeling a shiver at the sight of the great cut on his forehead, the flowing warmth in waves against the palm of his hand and so much blood, came down from the wound, the nose and the cut in his mouth, his eyes were closed and for a moment Keith thought the worst.

"How's he doing?" Keith heard Shiro speak beside him and jumped scared, Shiro seeing that Keith was about to panic put both hands on his shoulders, drawing his attention directly. "Keith, breathe, I need you with me, buddy, I can’t do this alone so you need to calm down."

Keith took a few moments to absorb the words, but swallowing hard and taking a deep breath he nodded, giving Shiro room to see the situation better, the leader's reaction to seeing Lance was not much different but his recovery was much faster by first checking the pulse of Lance before sighing relieved and gathering the paladin in his arms.

"Come on, we have to go, he's alive but he hit his head too badly, I'm afraid of what can happen if we do not get him to cryo pod as soon as possible." Shiro spoke earnestly and Keith nodded, taking his sword, Lance’s bayard and his helmet, feeling his breath catch for a second in the throat as he saw the great crack in the glass.

 " _Paladins! What is going on? Please report the situation!_ "Allura shouted in her communications, startling the two brothers who looked at each other before starting to run back to the lion, the princess's desperate tone was easily noticed by the phone and they wondered how long it should be calling while communications were not working.

"Allura! It was a trap, there were no rebels in jail! "Shiro spoke with some desperation, risking a look at his back and watching as new soldiers began to appear coming towards him. "We need an immediate rescue, there are many soldiers! Keith is injured but can move, Lance is unconscious and he hit his head very badly, I can not talk to Hunk and Pidge! "

_"Hunk and Pidge are in Green right now just waiting for you to come back, I'm going to ask them to come out and help me try to distract the guards long enough for you to go out and follow the Red Lion._ " a quick decision, shortly afterwards the communication was cut off and it did not take him two tics to hear the sound of explosions as the whole fortress began to shake, destabilizing some soldiers falling over others just like themselves, but before Shiro could even going to the ground Keith was already stabilizing him, all giving enough time for them to run down the aisle back where they came from.

"Look at the map where we should go!" Shiro spoke between sighs, his breathing becoming harder and harder. Lance was tall and even if it was not heavy, it was still too much to carry for so long and with that his breath failed miserably.

"Shiro ..." Keith spoke shakily, unable to turn his gaze from the blue paladin who looked very much like a puppet on Shiro's lap, his head was carefully dropped against the leader's chest but his legs and arms swayed softly with any movement of Shiro .

"Keith! Map, now! "Shiro screamed, ignoring what his brother was saying so he could concentrate, and he knew the situation. He could feel the heat radiating in waves across the face of the cuban in the curve of his neck, as well as blood that stained the white parts of his armor. Shiro just thought he had failed, again.

With the directions indicated by Keith it was not difficult to finally reach the red lion that did not cost to open their barrier for them to enter, he could have been connected with Lance a short time, but his desire to protect it was not less than the paladins previous years, and without any stubbornness she let them in.

"What do we do? Lance can’t drive! "Keith screamed, his anger mixed with despair making his whole body shake, a shiver rising all over him as he heard Lance scream as Shiro shifted his position so he could lay it on the ground. "He is awake?"

"I don’t know! Lance, are you with me? What are you feeling bud? "Shiro asked, holding the cuban's face in both hands and seeing his eyes slowly open, glazed with pain and fever, groaning as he tried to frown and feel the pain of the cut, automatically up to his face and pulling her wet, blood-soaked gloved fingers, his shocked gaze back to Shiro made the leader's heart clench.

Keith stepped into Lance's line of sight.

"Lance, it's going to be okay, but we need to get out of here, do you think you can drive?" Keith's gentle tone surprised Shiro, but Lance looked so out of his head that he did not even notice it, first trying to nod, but Immediately pain made him stop, so even with his tongue weighing a ton he murmured his statement, making Keith smile. "Alright, come on then."

Without waiting for Shiro Keith approached the sniper, sliding a hand to his back while the other went behind his knees, raising him and needing some tics to stabilize standing before putting Lance in the lion's pilot chair, seeing -o take her time before calling _Red_ that roared loudly before breaking the doors of the hangar with a blast and running out of jail, then jumping and picking up altitude, just in time to avoid one of the ion cannons.

"We need to get out of here!" Keith screamed as he ran his hands through his hair, receiving a groan from Lance that he barely translated into " _Shut the fuck, mullet._ " And Keith remembered that Lance must have been having a big headache in that time.

Headache was a euphemism to describe how Lance was feeling at the moment, practically everything hurt, his stomach mostly, it was as if he had had several stab wounds per second, spreading all over his belly quickly, it was difficult to breathe, it was mainly hard to focus on anything when he could barely see his vision so heavily rested by both the pain and the blood that went down his eyes and cramped his lashes, when all this was over, he would need a shower.

The lion suddenly rattled with a blast from a hunt and Lance screamed, for a moment everything went dark, but he woke up not just with Keith shouting, but Shiro too, his head was messy, he could not see much ahead, but something that looked like a blue ray passed very fast in his line of sight, making him wake up and pull the levers that made the lion take off, louder and faster, but he had no more strength, the taste of blood in his mouth was disgusting, head bumping prevented his concentration, everything was so hot and cold at the same time, and the pain was simply unbearable, Lance could no longer open his eyes after blinking, and when everything went dark his strength was over.

Keith promised himself he would not panic any more, but it was impossible to avoid when the lion was struck and Lance screamed, almost immediately unconscious for a few seconds, that's when Hunk, Pidge and Allura began to explode on the communicators, Keith for a he did not know if he tried to hold on to something and wait for the impact or if Lance checked, leaving the communications to Shiro who was already shouting back explaining the situation, suddenly he saw Allura going through the display and _Red_ roared as he took off, sending both Keith like Shiro to the ground. In a moment he saw Lance pulling the levers and then, nothing.

The whole Lion darkened, and Lance got completely limp on the bench as they fell again, but this time the others were ready, and before they went too far, Hunk with his Lion caught them in the air, retreating back to the castle, Pidge and Allura right behind.

Keith rushed over to the chair to look at Lance as he took her face in his hands, startled to see the pallor of his face next to the droplets of sweat on his forehead, a clear indication of discomfort and pain, eyes closed softly and mouth opened seemed to search for air but the purple lips seemed to say that none could enter, automatically Keith felt his pulse, weak, but constant, and when he bent to feel his breath felt again the panic began to grow.

"Shiro! He's not breathing! "Keith shouted, pulling Lance's seatbelts and pulling him out of the chair to lay him on the floor, taking off his armor and starting RCP, watching Shiro kneel on the other side of Lance. "28, 29, 30, now!" Shiro quickly blew air into his mouth as he held his nose, one, two, three, and when still the Cuban showed no sign of breathing again Keith cursed loudly, pushing his chest again , urging his lungs to breathe again.

When it seemed to be the third attempt at last, Lance coughed faintly as he turned aside and hugged his stomach moaning, his lips trembling as tears came down in abundance from the corner of his closed eyes, his lips moved but nothing he went out for them, and even the constant movements did not tell him exactly what he said.

After all what was " _duele_ "?

The moment Hunk lowered the Red Lion into the hangar, Shiro hurried out of the mouth with Lance in his arms, Keith just behind, paying no attention to the path they followed to the infirmary, with a vague notion that the others followed. right behind. Coran was already waiting for them with a stretcher, clothes, and the cryo pod ready to scan the extensions of Lance's wounds before beginning to heal him.

"We do not have time to exchange it for Coran! Before we arrived at the castle he stopped breathing for three minutes, counted by us, he hit his head very badly, we think he's going into shock, he needs to get into Pod now! "Shiro spoke with a certain despair, taking only the rest of the armor before placing the paladin in the pod at just his undersuit. Almost immediately the words began to appear on the computer next to it, in Altean.

"What's going on?" Hunk asked approaching Pidge, Allura was not seen.

"Lance had a three-minute respite." Shiro spoke darkly without taking his eyes off Lance in the pod, he did not seem to be in pain, but Shiro could not tell if his peaceful face was even more frightening than any expression he could do. His only consolation was the possibility of seeing his chest rising and falling, weak and erratic, but alive and breathing.

Pidge ran to Coran's side, thanking him for studying Altean language so hard when it became too much of a hindrance in his research, growing paler as he read Lance's symptoms.

"His appendix broke! It is hitting your organs and causing them to fail, so he stopped breathing! Coran, modify the cryo-pod for the elimination of the appendix, the organ located at the end of the large intestine and the cleansing of the toxins released by it in your system, if it continues to spread at this rate he will die! "Pidge shouted as he continued to read. At his back Hunk moaned and Shiro almost lost the battle against his panic and anxiety, it was his fault, he could have avoided it, he should have avoided it.

"Lance had a three-minute respite." Shiro spoke darkly without taking his eyes off Lance in the pod, he did not seem to be in pain, but Shiro could not tell if his peaceful face was even more frightening than any expression he could do. His only consolation was the possibility of seeing his chest rising and falling, weak and erratic, but alive and breathing.

Pidge ran to Coran's side, thanking him for studying Altean language so hard when it became too much of a hindrance in his research, growing paler as he read Lance's symptoms.

"His appendix broke! It is hitting your organs and causing them to fail, so he stopped breathing! Coran, modify the cryo-pod for the elimination of the appendix, the organ located at the end of the large intestine and the cleansing of the toxins released by it in your system, if it continues to spread at this rate it will die! "Pidge shouted as he continued to read. At his back Hunk moaned and Shiro almost lost the battle against his panic and anxiety, it was his fault, he could have avoided it, he should have avoided it.

Seeing Hunk crying that way and Shiro almost starting to cry was also enough to throw Keith over the edge, screaming in frustration as he kicked anything insignificant within reach of his foot before leaving the room, he needed to hit something, discard the whole thing. his anger, before he completely freaks out.

He needed to get away, he needed air and think that it was not real, or he did not know if he could handle it.

"But Pidge, we need a donor if we have to remove an organ, the pod does not create artificial organs."

"Do not worry, Coran, you do not have to. It's something he will not die if he stays the rest of his life without, believe me. "Pidge spoke darkly before turning back to his friend.

"I have to modify the pod to cure the forehead injury and the severe concussion, the two fractured ribs, the tongue cut and the abscess in the stomach, after I do all this, I'll let the pod count the estimated time for us to talk." The moment Coran finished speaking a cold sensation in the belly and the slight tremor of the ship made them realize that they had just passed through a wormhole.

Every information given by the older Altean made Hunk cry more and more, Shiro hid his face in his hands, but both Hunk and Pidge could clearly hear him sobbing quietly, Hunk hugged him, but he did not know if he was comforting the leader or the himself, Pidge clung to his waist and there was no one who could pull it away.

She could imagine his desperation as he tried to resuscitate Lance.

"Five quintants, nine vargas, thirty-seven doboshs and twenty-eight tics will be enough to make him new." Coran spoke wearily, reminding himself with regret that for millennia someone had to stay so long in a cryo pod. "We can not relax for at least a few vargas, since his condition is critical, but this can be left to me, I will stay and watch him."

"No, I'll stay," Shiro said wiping his eyes with his palms, yet when he stopped hiding his face it was not a good thing to see red, swollen eyes.

"Shiro you need to rest, just like everyone else." Allura who had just entered the infirmary spoke, approaching the leader and Hunk to look inside the cryo pod with heavy heart. After so long Lance was no less than a younger brother to her, and seeing him that way made her heart clench in her chest.

"I will not," Shiro said stubbornly.

"You do," Allura insisted more seriously.

"I can’t! This is my fault! Lance almost died again because of me! "Shiro screamed, causing Allura to walk away startled by the sudden explosion, Shiro stopped, not recognizing himself, he never yelled at Allura, with anyone except ... except maybe Lance, just a few vargas behind , while he felt pain. The thought made her stomach bow and tears came back together at the edge of her eyes, but he pushed them away.

"Shiro ..." Pidge called away from him enough to look into his eyes. "It's not your fault..."

"You don’t understand ... I knew he didn’t feel good, I heard him vomiting before the mission, he said he had only eaten too much so I did not care ... but I saw the signs ... I should have I'd put him and all of us at risk ... "Shiro could not look at anyone, he felt so guilty, he almost let Lance die and put everyone in danger, Lance would not forgive him, it.

"It's not your fault Shiro, you should rather have talked to us about Lance to make a better decision on the situation, but he should have told us he didn’t felt good," Allura said gently putting a hand on his shoulder. Shiro walked away.

"You're blaming him-" Shiro was prevented from continuing to speak for Pidge.

"Appendicitis does not happen from morning to afternoon, Shiro, not to the point of breaking that way. He should have told us, but we can not blame him, we're not blaming him, not you for what happened. Now you need to go, need a shower, clean clothes and sleep, Lance is not going anywhere, Coran will stay here with Hunk, and I'll see if Keith gets the same as you. "Pidge said wearily, think of dealing with Keith at a time like this already made a little pain poking his head, if in his best days Korean was difficult to deal with, in this kind of situation only made things even worse.

"Keith ..." Shiro murmured as he looked around the room looking for his brother, turning pale as he did not see him there. "Let me talk to him, and then I promise I'll rest."

"If you say ..." Pidge said not caring, she was too stressed to deal with Keith at that moment and did not know if she would take the boy with some kind of break in front of her.

For Shiro to find Keith was not difficult, when he searched in his room and did not see him there, the best option would be the training room, and if the sounds that came from inside wanted to say something, it was that he was there.

"Stop training session," Shiro said as he entered, the sentries on their feet collapsed and Keith lowered his sword, causing it to be a knife again and dropping it to the ground. "Keith ..."

"He almost died, Shiro. _Again_. I could have stopped this, I saw that he was not well, but I ignored and _yelled_ at him! How much pain he should be feeling and I just ... "Keith could not finish speaking, clenching his hands into clenched fists and leading them to his face, trying to hide as much as possible the frustration that showed in the form of tears. These that he insisted on holding, he would not cry, he couldn’t.

"It's not your fault, Keith, it's ..." _Is it mine_? Shiro thought with regret, because if it had not been his fault, not Keith's and especially Lance's, who was it? He could not think about it at the moment, he was tired and too stressed for it. "We are at war, things happen, some are inevitable."

"Paladins." Allura called for the loudspeakers of the castle and for a moment the two brothers froze. It was impossible not to think of the worst. "After a few more adjustments in the cryo pod Lance is finally stable, his time in the pod has increased to seven more vargas, but I am happy to warn him that he will not have any sequels, but he will continue to be watched."

Shiro smiled at the news, feeling his body finally relax a bit. Looking at Keith he saw the boy smiling, barely almost imperceptible, but vanished quickly as he sighed defeated.

"You do not want me to stay here, do you?"

"I want you to go back to the infirmary, you're hurt too, some vargas in the pod can make you brand new." Shiro spoke gently down a hand on Keith's shoulder and smiled as he nodded. But it was not because her bruises ached like a bitch, no, it was just because her big brother was begging.

He could not deny Shiro and his puppy eyes.

The next days of the paladins were spent practicing their daily activities as fast as possible and then going to the ward. Pidge and Hunk only camped there with pillows, blanket and Pidge's computer, leaving only when they needed the more advanced technology of the Alteanos apparatus or to eat. Shiro was the least of them, but not because he did not want to, his obligations as a leader of the voltron prevented him from doing so when he had to be a diplomat with Allura, Coran and Allura would go vaguely to conversations with the paladins and check Lance before returning to his affairs, Coran taking care of the castle and Allura trying to ally with the leaders of other planets. Keith on the other hand has not left Lance's side ever since he had come out of his own cryo pod, no matter how much they demanded or demanded. And when they got tired of trying, Hunk started to bring him food, Pidge clothes:

" _For what is it_?" Keith asked.

" _You do not shower for two days Keith! For God's sake, you stink! There's a bathroom in here, you know that? At least wipe yourself up a little, Lance will not run away from the pod._ "

And Keith did, but took a shower so fast that Pidge wondered if he had not only poured water on his body before approaching him and feeling the smell of the liquid soap coming out of the shower - Pidge thought it super cool the shower that opened to one side , water comes out, and on the other, liquid soap for them to wash.

Shiro found out that Keith was camping with Pidge and Hunk, but only on the hard floor, he insisted on bringing him a blanket and pillow, not that he used it too much anyway, barely sleeping even when the lights went out to simulate the night, the light that came from inside the cryo pod did not bother him, knowing that there was someone, that Lance was there was what really made him sleepy.

By the time he saw that Lance was not breathing, Keith could swear he felt his heart fail a beat, and squeeze more and more with each failed resuscitation attempt, until he breathed again, the color coming back to his face, his normally red lips seemed lifeless with the tone of dark purple, he never wanted to see it again, never wanted to _feel_ it again.

Not from Lance, not from any of his friends, his new family. To think that he almost lost Lance without telling him how he really felt was frightening. Thinking about when and especially how he started to like the shooter made his head ache, especially as he was almost certain that Lance did not feel the same, after all, he only saw him as a rival, someone he needed to overcome, even though Lance seemed to be more vulnerable to his presence, Keith just thought that his attempts to befriend Lance were not in vain.

Three days and fifteen hours later it was finally the time that Lance was finally about to wake up, Keith watched him day and night, seeing his progress with each new varga, how his skin returned to normal, and he could actually see the cut in her eyebrow slowly healing, but leaving a thin scar in place.

" _Just one more in the middle of so many_." His brain gave him a shiver running through his body as he thought it was not hidden behind his back, the scars Keith only accidentally saw when he entered without knocking Lance's room to Call him for lunch when he was late. The shooter was only in his pants trying to look at his scars through the big mirror:

_"Where did that come from?" Keith asked approaching the Cuban in three long strides, holding his shoulders in place as he tried to turn around and hide._

_"It does not interest you, mullet, let me go!" Lance said, his panic overlapping under his anger._

_"Throw it ... do you need a pod? I'm going to call Coran, just sit down and- "_

_"No!" His scream made Keith walk away, startled, thinking he had somehow hurt Lance even more. "Do not talk to anyone ... please ..."_

_Keith felt his breath fail, he had never seen Lance that way ... vulnerable, made his stomach flutter, and Keith wanted to run wildly at the sight of the tears that had just formed in Lance's eyes, began to descend by his cheeks._

_"I ... all right, but ... but you do not feel pain? Do not want..."_

_"That was when that drone blew up the crystal in the ship's control room ..." Lance said avoiding Keith's gaze and sitting on the bed, the paladin - now black - sitting next to him._

_"Such a long time? So they're just ... "_

_"Scars." Lance practically spat the word, causing Keith to be surprised, had never seen that tone being uttered by Lance, not even to him._

_"Anyone else know?" Keith asked, trying to make his tone as low and less menacing as possible, seeing as that was a delicate subject for Lance._

_"Only Coran ... when I saw after leaving the pod I asked Coran if he had given something wrong and he said that however much the pod could heal the wounds, the scars would not disappear." Lance shook his head negatively as if still do not believe that even with all the advanced alien technology they have not yet invented a scraper remover or something. "I'm stuck with these horrible and scary things for the rest of my life ..."_

_"Nonsense." Keith spoke without giving much thought to what Lance said, watching him look at him in disbelief and annoyance, but change into utter confusion as Keith smiled. "For me, you're still too much beautiful."_

_That caught Lance by surprise, his mouth opened to say something, but he did not even know what, feeling his face heat up more every second that passed and he just could not say anything, until he managed to look away, hiding his face colored in the hands._

_"Keeeeith ... this is not something you say like that all of a sudden." Lance groaned not daring to face the leader again._

_Keith did not understand, he thought that would animate Lance, and it was not only because of that, the Cuban was truly beautiful, scarred or not. Still, putting a hand up to the nape of his neck and rubbing his hair, he thought about what he had just said, feeling now his own cheeks begin to heat up. Keith got up quickly avoiding to look at Lance went to the door._

_"Hm, I'm sorry for what you said, I-"_

_"No, do not apologize ..." Lance spoke softly, removing his hands from his face and forcing himself to look at Keith who made the mistake of looking at Lance at the same moment._

_He swears he felt something squeezing his heart, but not in a bad way, it was strange however, he had never felt it and to see Lance looking at him that way with brow furrowed and cheeks flushed, surely did something for him._

_"Thank you, Keith ... listening to you say that's a great thing to me."_

_The smile at the end was enough for Keith to leave the room as fast as possible with one hand on his mouth and the other on his belly, his face so hot that it seemed feverish and his stomach fluttering so hard he thought he would be sick there. The strange thing, however, was that he could not shake the smile that had formed on his lips._

Keith thought Lance would not like a scar on his face at all, and Keith would make Lance realize that he was still beautiful, scars or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading here!  
> I really hope you're enjoying this fanfic because I'm loving writing it!
> 
> Tell me what you think about the chapter and see you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Aaw Lance! I swear I love them people! But that unfortunately had to happen for Shiro and Keith to see how much they fucked for neglecting something that they are seeing from the beginning (Shito at least saw)  
> I hope you enjoyed!  
> I hope also that it does not have so many mistakes ... again English is not my native language, I'm still learning and I wanted to do a test, so I hope it's not so bad lol
> 
> Let me know if you like it!
> 
> Until the next?


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